Store-service apparatus



y 1. `L. BALDWIN, STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 12, |920.

Patented June 13, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

In 'efe 22245? l l. L. BALDWIN.

STORE SERVICE PPARAIUVS APPL |cAT!oN FILED Nov.12. 1920.

Patented June 13, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. rdv] `JAI/Ins L. BALDWIN, or CHICAGO,` ILLINOIS.-

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

raiaaco.

Specification of Letters Eatent. Patgntgd Jun@ 13, 1922.

Application filed November 12, 1920. Serial No. 423,594.-l

To all whom t may concern Be it known. that l, JAMES L. BALDWIN, a citizen ot the United States otAmerica, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented anew and useful StoreService Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to store service apparatus in which a track wire is provided on which basket car travels and means for catching and throwing the car from the. sta tion in combination with means for elevating and lowering thel basket to and from the track, and the objects of my improvements are, iirst, to eliminate the customary springs on the elevator; second, to have the track wire serve as Vthe positioning element Jfor the elevator; third, to have the elevator pull cord pulleys mounted on a pivoted bracket to which the elevator stop rod it secured; fourth, to provide a salety guide for the thrower cord; fifth, to'make a simple, cheap and durable apparatus, and other yfeatures to become apparent `from the description to follow.

In store service apparatus of the class to which my invention pertains it is very desirable to have the least number of parts possible and yet attain eiiicient service; to guard against damage should any of the .wearing parts break; to make the apparatus easy to operate and fool-proof; to so position the elevator with respect to the incoming car that long and continuous use, which necessarily wears the parts, will not materially vary the position of theelevator with respect to the incoming car; and to eliminate as many springs as possible, and I attain these several objects by the use of my invention.

To describe my invention so that others versed'iin the art to which it pertains can make and use the same have illustrated it on the accompanying two sheets of drawings in which i Figure l, is a side elevation of a store service apparatus embodying my invention; Figure 2, is an enlarged plan viewk of the same partly broken away and Figure 3, is an end elevation of the same showing the'elevator pull cords and their connections.

Similar referenceJ characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The apparatus is supported on the lower end oi' a vertically disposed pipe 4 secured to thetceiling or other suitabflepart of the store. The track wire 5 extends to the right of the support 4 as viewed inthe illustration and two guy wiresG are provided to hold the track wir@ 5 taut.

The track wire 5 is secured to a small clip 7 which is secured by a horizontal pivot 8 to the bracket 9 which .is mounted on the lower end oi?` the pipe 4 in such manner that it can swing about a vertical axis which preferably coincides4 with the axis of the pipe 4. ySet screws l0 are provided to rigidly secure the bracket 9 inplace after the same has been properly positioned.' The guy wires 6 are secured to a sleeve ll which. is loosely mounted on the pipe 4, but can be secured in place by means of a-r set screw l2 or otherwise.

Extending parallel to the track wire 5, and spaced a short distance below the saine in the .same vertical plane therewith is arranged al Hat track, 13 on which the thrower 14 is mounted to slide. The track 13 is se`- cured to the bracket 9 by means of a horizontal pivotvl andy to the track wire 5 some distance from the bracket 9 by means of the pulley bracket 1(5,which has mounted there! on the pulley 17.. One end ofthe thrower cord 18 is secured to the thrower 14 and from thence passes `around the pulley 17. thence over the. pulley 19, ymounted "on bracket 9, thence down around the floating pulley 2O mounted in the block 21, thence up over the pulley 22, `mounted on bracket 9, and thence down tor the pulley block 2l, where its other end is secured. The thrower pull cord 23 is secured to the pulley block 2l and depends from the same having a handle 24 secured to its lower end'.

It will be noted that, since the track wire 5 is free to swing vertically about the 'pivot 8 and horizontally about the pipe 4 as a pivot, the thrower track 13 will always be held parallel tothe track wire 5, thus `insuring that the thrower 14 will always travel in the proper 'path with relation to the carrier which travels on the track wire 5.

When vthe car, ynot shown, which travels on the track wire 5 enters the station, i.y e., the apparatus shown in the drawing, the catch provided on the car will enter and be caught by the catcher hook 25, which is provided with a rearwardly extending rod 26," which passes freely through a .hole provided` in bracketI 9 at 27. A butler spring 28 is. interposed between raine 9 and the hook 25 and a recoil buier spring 29 is interposed between the frame 9 and a suitable stop provided on the extremity ot the rod 26. Extending upward :trom the hook 25 is an integral arm 30 which is provided at its upper end with a fork 31 to straddle the track wire 5, and a suitable pin 32 is secured in the free ends of the ork 31 above the track wire 5 so that the hook 25 iscarried by the track wire 5, which arrangement at all timesproperly positions the hook 25 to register with the incoming car not shown. This is` true even though the track wire 5 is moved to either side orup and down.`

The elevator, which is provided to lower and elevate the basket which is detachably connected to thecarwhich` travels on the track wire 5, comprises the usual sti-rrup A33 whose operation and: connection with the basket `and car, not shown, is fully shown and described in a former patentissued to me December 28, 1915, No. 1,165,565; the basket and car forming no` part ot this invention. The stirrup 33 is raised and lowered by being secured to two cords, or more properly speaking, tothe two ends of a single piece of cord 34. The two ends of the cord 34 are secured to the stirrup 33 at 35` on either side of the track wire 5, from whence they pass upward over pulleys 36 mounted onfthe free ends of the U shaped frame 37, thence to the left and up over pulleys 38 mounted on bracket 39 `and thence downward tothe counter weight 40 wherein the cord is looped around through a suitable cavity formed ytherefore in said counter weight 40. Thus it is clearly seen if the counter weight 40 is pulled down the stirrup 33 will be lifted and when the counter weight 40 is raised thestirrup 33 will descend. The counter weight 40 is made sufticiently heavy to alwayshold the stirrup 33 in an elevated position adjacent the free ends ot the frame 37, but suiiiciently light to be raised, when the basket, not shown, is resting on the stirrup 33. `The U shaped iframe 37 is connected to the bracket 9 to swing about the horizontal pivot 41. ,A short distance from the bracket 9, the U shapedframe 37 is provided with an integral cross bar 42, and secured to this cross .bar 42 is an upright 43 which has a right angle hook'at its upper end extending over the track :wire 5 so that the position of the free ends of the frame 37, vertically, is determined by the track wire 5. The lateral position, or the position horizontally of the frame 37 is determined by the bracket 9, and corresponds to the position of the track wire 5. Thusit will be seen that the position of the free ends of frame 37, both horizontally and vertically, corresponds to the position of the track wire 5, and since the stirrup. 33 depends from the free ends of the frame 37, said stirrup 33 is held in proper registering position withthe incoming car, not shown, by the track wire 5.

Thus it is seen that the thrower 14, the

catcher hook 25 and the stirrup 33 are each held in its proper operating position by the track wire 5. y

The elevator pull cord 44 is secured to the counter weight 40 and has a handle 45 secured to its lower end. T he counter weight 4U is made in the form of a curved frame so it can conveniently be placed or caught'under theinverted hook46 formed near the lower end of the rod 47 which has its upper end secured in the bracket 39, `pivotally mounted on the free end of the arm 48 'secured to the pipe 4. The bracket 39 is made to swing freely on the horizontal pivot 49 so that saidbracket 39 will alwaysadj ust itself inline with the pull on the pull cord 44; and the stop hook rod 47 being rigidly secured to the bracket 39, it will also be held in line with the pull on said pull cord 44, so that the counter weight 40 can easily be placed under thehook46.V ,i

l'nroperation the normal position ofthe apparatus is with the basket, not shown', resting on the stirrup 33 and the counter weight 40 caught under hook 46. To lower the `basket to within reach ot' the operator, the counter weight, 40 is pulled out from under hook 46 and permitted to move up until it comes to a stop against the bracket 39.` To elevate the basket and couple it onto the car, not shown, resting on the track wire 5, the elevator pull 'cord 44 is pulled down until it comes -to a stop. `The pulling down on the pull cord 44 will lift the stirrup 33 ywith the basket until the stirrup contacts with the free ends of the U shaped frame 37, when a further pull down on the pull cord 44 will also lift the free. ends ot' trame 37` about its pivot 41 untilthe basket contactswith the car and is locked thereto; whereupon the pull on-pull cord 44islreleased and the` weight of the free ends of frame `37. being greater than the counterweight 40, the 'free ends of frame 37 will swing down about their pivot 41-until the bent end of the upright 43 contacts with thetrack wire 5. i

To throw the` car with the basket attached thereto out from the station `the pull cord 23 is pulled down until the thrower 14` comes to ya stop 'against the bracketil. When the car with the-basket attached thereto is, returned to the station the thrower 14 is carried back by the car and the `catch on` the car locks itself to the catcher hook 25 with the basket bail resting above and-free from/the stirrup 33. To return the basket to its normal position the pull cord 44 is `pulled down until it comes to a stop with the free ends of the frame 37 raised suiciently tohave the stirrup 33 lift the basket and disconnect it from the car; thereupon the pull cord 44 is permitted to move 'upward until thecounter weight 40 is caught under the stop hook 46.

l il il 1 1 l Il; 1 1 il* 1 *1 11 lli ie ovver ex remi-y ot e roc is provided with an eyeJ 5() through which the throvver pull cord 2B passes, which prevents the pulley block 2l from falling and causing damage should the thrower cord 18 become severed.

It Will be understood that the size, shape, form and arrangement ot' the parts may be changed Without in the least departing from the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. In a device of the class described, a support, a track Wire for a car to travel on, a thrower :t'or the car, a thrower rail supported at one end by the track Wire, a catch for the car supported at one end by the track Wire, and an elevator supporting arm supported by the track wire.

2. In a device ofthe class described, a support, a bracket mounted on the support arranged to swing about a vertical axis, 'a track Wire attached to said bracket, a thrower rail having one end supported by said bracket and the other end supported by the track wire, a car catch supported at one end by said bracket and at the other end by the track Wire, and an e1evator supporting arm pivoia y connec e to said bracket and having means to engage the track Wire to position the free end of said elevator supporting arm.

3, In a device of the class described, a support, a track Wire secured to said support and extending therefrom, and an elevator supporting arm pivotally connected to said support and provided with a stop to engage the track Wire to position the free end of the same.

4. In a device of the class described, a support, a track wire, an elevator, a pull cord for operating the elevator, a pulley over Which said pull cord travels, a pulley bracket mounted on the support to swing about a horizontal aXis in Which the pulley is mounted, a stop rod for the elevator cord rigidly mounted on said bracket to swing therewith, and a means on the elevator cord to engage the said stop rod.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in presence of a subscribing Witness this th day of October, 1920, at Chicago, Illinois.

JAMES L. BALDWIN.

Witness RICHARD J. JAoKnR. 

